Knights Of The Vanguard
by Fantasy-Captain
Summary: This is the first chapter in a book that I am writing and I would like as many as people to review it as possible thank you


**Knights of the Vanguard**

**Chapter one: Isel's Battle **

The rain was beating down hard so hard you could hear the clunking of the Armour of the Kerais. Isel who had recently been drafted in to the army of his homeland at the age of fifth teen was shivering "why me" he said under his breath, he looked up to see ranks upon ranks of the Galmarian Empire. He lowered his hand to his sword, still in it's sheath and gripped it tightly he wondered if he would be able to keep hold of it without losing his grip because it was so wet. He held a shield in his left had nothing more than a small buckler but what did he expect joining the light infantry.

"Right then" screamed a voice at the front of the ranks "On my command you will follow me we're going to kick those men into the under realm, you will all hold your ground and will not retreat you fight till you are dead _understand_" Isel new what that meant the Generals don't expect any of them to make any advance at all.

"Forward, march" screamed the officer Isel got in to step and marched forward with the rest of his company it seamed like they where walking into there own doom the footsteps which lasted a life time where over when all of a sudden a man shouted "archers" chaos spread through the ranks

"Right then, Charge" the officer screamed the pace set in quickly Isel ran as fast as he could praying to any of the gods that if the got him through it he would praise them for the rest of his life. He ran, sprinted, even though his legs ached he wasn't going to give up now.

The archers mowed down the straggerlers of the company. Isel kept running by now he was at the front of the company he could see the enemy line getting closer the archers were at the front for some reason, a mistake Galmarians would pay the price for he ran at the archer in front of him although the archer had a arrow in his bow and it was pointing at Isel raised his buckler and he heard and felt the arrow deflect of it, he raised his sword and struck it down into the archers shoulder the blood spurted up into the air Isel the raised his sword and swung at the screaming archer's neck the blade only went half way through his neck "damn blunt weapon" Isel thought he pulled the weapon out of the remnants of the neck and moved onto the next man his next opponent was in armour and was a heavy infantry man who was carrying a mace rather than a bow Isel raised his sword the man just laughed and swung his mace Isel moved his buckler in the path of the mace however the force still knocked him down he had time to catch his breath before he saw the man swing at his head Isel rolled over fortunately the blow hit the soil Isel clambered up and raised his foot and kicked the man stumbled Isel seized his chance and trusted his sword in between the man's head and body armour the blood trickled out of the armour Isel pulled his weapon out and kicked the man in the head as he did this the blood from the neck wound spurted over him and caught him in the eye Isel grunted as he fell on the floor rubbing at his eye. He rested on the floor for a couple of seconds just to get his breath back and get the blood out of his eye he stood up and thought to himself maybe he'd get a promotion for killing more humans then suddenly from behind a huge scream came he turned to face it an saw heavy cavalry cutting down the rest of his company then Isel saw one of them raise his lance at him, he had little time to think as the horse drew closer and closer Isel moved to the side and grabbed the humans foot and pulled it. The human fell to the floor with a huge crack Isel ran over to him and saw the man had his bone sticking out of his leg "mercy" screamed the man

"You humans are so naive" replied Isel "I would never give you scum mercy" Isel raised his sword and brought the sword down into the man's chest the blood spurted up and covered Isel in yet more blood Isel moved his head just to see if any one else wanted a fight however he saw his company running off, Isel quickly responded by running as well. He sprinted with all the energy he had left however his company stopped running and they where fight, the company had become surrounded he looked behind to see humans gathering up behind him with some sort of weird stick the sticks were lowered and pointed at him and the rest of his comrades suddenly fire erupted from the front of the stick something struck Isel on his shoulder and forced him towards the ground, he collapsed and everything went dark and Isel groaned in vein that something might happen

Isel awoke everything was dark "am I dead" Isel groaned

"No just injured" replied a voice

"Where am I?"

"Where did you fall?"

"In a field"

"Then your still there"

"Who are you"

"An elf like you named Nargaith"

"What kind"

"Dark like you now come on sit up" his hand grabbed Isel shoulder and he pulled, Isel returned the favour by hauling him self up "Now stand" Isel stood up

"Can't see" said Isel

"Hang on you'll get used to the dark in a minute" replied Nargaith "now put your arm round my shoulder" Isel did it with some effort "right then we'll head to my village near here it's only two miles and there's a good doctor, inn and brothel there. They staggered for what seemed to be a life time until they reached the top of a hill "here it is" said Nargaith "your welcome at my house until you recover"

"Thanks" said Isel they stumbled down the hill until they came to a house with lots of vines growing on the side of it Nargaith threw open the door walked over to the bed and placed Isel on the bed and Nargith said "rest well soldier of Kerais"

Isel awoke to the sound of birds and humming Isel opened his eyes and raised himself up however his shoulder felt stiff he looked at it and saw a bandage on it he closed his eyes and dosed in the sun light coming through the window. After several minutes the door opened and a girl entered she was about Isel's height and she was slightly paler than Isel but she still had black skin she was wearing leather armour for some reason and sliver earrings "good morning soldier" said the girl

"Err... good morning" replied Isel

"Sorry I didn't catch your name last night what is it?" said the girl

"Err..."

"Hello- that lead must have had some side effect" said the girl

"It's Isel" replied Isel

"Well glad to meet you again Isel" said the girl

"Err- are you- Nargaith" said Isel

"That would be me herbalist and white magic expert" replied Nargaith bowing at the same time

"Oh..."gasped Isel

"You thought I was a man didn't you" said Nargaith in an angry tone

"No no no no... well yes I did" stammered Isel

"Didn't you think these gave me away" she said whilst pointing at her breasts

"I couldn't see remember" blurted Isel

"Oh well I forgive you then" she said whilst smiling "any way get up I've got to get you to the local guild they're looking for new fighters... well that's not the word erm... well get up Isel your visiting the Knights of the Vanguard"

Isel pulled the blanket of himself and put his feet to the floor and yawned whilst Nargaith stood there staring at his chest "what" Isel said

"Oh...nothing" replied Nargaith "your shirt's in the main room" Isel clambered to his feet with a lot of effort "Who are these Knights of the Vanguard" grunted Isel

"They're sort of mercenaries" said Nargaith not sounding as though she was sure

"Ok" said Isel "why do they want to see me I'm still in the army" said Isel

"They want some one they can train up for using the new weapon they have got but also so they have someone that's had some training" replied Nargaith "oh... hang on you need a weapon for the tournament" Nargaith left the room while Isel put his shirt on he could hear shuffling and a lot of clanking he ruffled his shirt slightly when he finished he walked towards the door and opened it he came into a brightly light room with all the furniture made out of wood there was two wooden chairs and a dining table with one chair "oh only one chair" said Isel slightly surprised

"I only eat alone since I left my parents" replied Nargaith "My parents lived in a mixed village with elf's, dwarf's, humans and even a vampire I think so I left I couldn't stand it there besides there was this other dark elf there intent marrying me" Nargaith was bending over a chest obviously looking for something "ah here it is" she got up quickly turned around holding a sword in it's sheath "here take it my brother gave it to me before I left you'll need it in the tournament" Isel grabbed the handle and slowly drew it out of its sheath it was a black metal scimitar with ridges in it "I've got a shield in the other room as well you can have that as well" Isel looked at the sword then looked up at her face and thought to himself "God she's so beautiful but why did she choose me on the battle field" he thought for a bit longer and said "thank you very much I am eternally grateful and thank you again for saving me but may I ask why did you choose me"

"I was looking around the battle field just for any survivors I was tending to peoples wounds and I couldn't help four of the men I found they where too injured to save the I accidentally stood on you and you groaned and by this point I was pissed of and I was intent on not letting another person die" said Nargaith lengthily and thoughtfully

"Erm you where saying something about a tournament" said Isel

"Yeah well you don't have to take part cause you get might get killed but I'll help you I can teach you the only dark magic spell I know" replied Nargaith "it's called dark chain... it summons a whip to your hand made out of pure darkness"

"That sounds good" said Isel cheerfully

Nargaith bent over and looked in the chest once more she rummaged around inside the chest for a while and produced a scroll she didn't open it, she handed it to Isel and said "read it when I say ok"

"Sure" replied Isel

"Now stand here " she pointed at the middle of the room Isel moved and stood there "now read the scroll out loud"Isel opened the scroll then suddenly a beam of light shot from the scroll into his eye Isel cringed for a while till the beam stopped he looked at the scroll and red it out " Merthia tulo hathar goliath" suddenly a black beam shot from his hand to the ground it then curled up as it reached the ground and curled up until it started materializing into the form of a whip Isel stood there amazed at what spell he had just performed "wow" he gasped "that felt weird but in a good way" he raised the whip and looked at it "definitely a good whip" he said "but how do I get rid of it".

"Just say the word of the spell" replied Nargaith whilst beaming at him

"Oh...goliath" he said instantly the whip diapered quicker than it had appeared

"Come lets go to the blood hall that's the name of the building where the knights of the Vanguard are stationed" said Nargaith as she turned around she opened her door and Isel followed her out her garden was full of weird plants some brightly coloured plants and some dull ones Isel thought about asking her why she had those but then he remembered she was a herbalist they walked down her garden path and out of the gate onto a small dusty track which led to a small village packed with plenty of weird people some tall some short some dark some pale some weird some who looked like villagers however they all had one thing in common they where all carrying weapons "oh gods" said Isel

"They're all contestants" said Nargaith "doesn't matter while your in the first round of the fighting I'll find another spell for you a friend of mine in this village is a fire mage he'll help us" "that's the hall there" she pointed at building that could easily been mistake for a cathedral "you go there and I'll be there to see you fight the first round" she ran off into the crowd before Isel had chance to say anything.

Isel started to walk towards the hall but then stopped when he heard a jingling Isel stopped at felt his pocket he then reached inside it a brought out some silver coins he remembered the army paid him "well the bastards may try to kill us but at least they pay us" Isel thought. Isel could hear a man behind calling "get your food and Ale here finest food and Ale in all the kingdom Isel walked up to the stall and asked the man for some ale and cheese the man obliged and cut some cheese out "here you are sir" the man said whilst handing the mug and cheese to him Isel gave him a silver and walked off.

Isel ate quickly and drunk the drink in one go so that he wouldn't be late for the contest. He walked up to the hall's steps and walked up slowly looking at the hall as he went as he reached near the top a small dwarf walked up to him and said "are you Isel"

"That could be me why?" replied Isel

"Cause I need to take him to me captain see" said the little dwarf

"Ok where is he" said Isel

"Over ere" said the dwarf, the dwarf the walked into the hall and there was a couple of armed men standing in the entrance which was a small room with a couple of chairs in the corner "this is im" said the dwarf to the tallest person there he was a high elf with short blond hair and he was thin and had an arrogant look in the way he was standing with his helmet underneath his arm "ahhh so this is the infamous Isel is it I am Two lark " said the elf

"What the hell is wrong with you blondie"

"Now, now no need to get offensive"

"What the hell do you want anyway"

"I want you not to take part in this tournament"

"Why you scared I might win"

"No you don't scare me I just want you to stay away from Nargaith and she probably put you up to this and besides why should I be scared of a elf who can't even keep his uniform neat" he said whilst taping the huge gash in Isel's leather armour

Isel raised his fist at threw a punch at Twolark's face the punch landed on the elf's jaw he fell to the ground with a cry "you just punched an officer of the watch and that's a crime" Isel just shrugged his shoulders and walked past the elf into the hall he opened the door to see lots of different people gathering near huge oak door the hall had obviously been cleared for the tournament. Isel moved near the centre of the hall and just stood waiting for something to happen suddenly the oak door opened and a man dressed in black entered and stood by the door the man held a weird stick up and shouted "this is what you have all come here to claim and only five of you shall get one and shall also be given a membership to the knights as well you will all now proceed to a wooden stadium set up in a field outside of the town go there now and you will be ordered what to do when you get there so god luck" the second that the man had finished he turned around and walked back into the room from where he had came.

Isel turned around and headed to the main door he was one of the first to leave he entered the entrance room again and saw Twolark covering his face in the corner surrounded by his fellow watch men Isel couldn't help laughing even though he did look weird he stepped out into the sun light and saw Nargaith standing at the bottom with a grey elf who could have passed of for an assassin if it was for the fact he was wearing bright red

"Isel" called Nargaith as soon as she saw him

"Hello" replied Isel "I thought I wouldn't see you till after the first round"

"Ah that's what I said but Northia here is going to enter the contest as well" she said whilst pointing at the grey elf next to her "hi there" said Northia calmly

"Wont that mean were against each other" said Isel confused

"No not at all we can just work together in the first round then we'll be placed together in a team" said Northia

"Oh what are the different rounds then?" asked Isel

"Well round one is every man for himself then the second is the team against a troll then the day after it's the teams against each other until there is only six teams left. Then there is two teams in the arena with three trolls then the next day it's the remaining teams against many, many orcs" relied Northia

"Oh gods I thought it was just a one day thing" said Isel

"No matter we'll stay at my house until the tournament is over" interrupted Nargaith

"Thanks again" said Isel "where's the tavern I need something to drink I'll meet you at the stadium when I've finished"

"It's down there" Nargaith pointed "see you up at the stadium"

"See you" said Northia

Isel walked of down the street towards the tavern leaving Northia and Nargaith behind

"He's the darkest dark elf I've ever seen" said Northia when Isel was out of sight

"He's not that black" replied Nargaith

"No not that way I meant spirit" said Northia sharply

"Oh yeah but he has been through many battles" said Nargaith

"Do you like him" said Northia calmly

"Yeah he's a nice guy" said Nargaith

Isel entered the stadium entrance and immediately saw Nargaith and Northia "hello Isel" said Nargaith sounding a bit hyper active and bounding over to him "what's wrong with you" said Isel Northia walked up behind her and said "she's been eating to many elf cakes filled with sugar"

"Not that many no not that many at all my brother once at ten in seven minutes and he was way, way, way worse than me" said Nargaith quickly

"Come on Isel they've been calling our round out for the last three minutes come we need to get ready"

"But I haven't even signed up"

"Don't worry I did it for you"

"Come on move, move, move you've got get there" said Nargaith as she was pushing them

"Let's do this Isel" said Northia calmly the two walked to where a man was calling for their round to start the two where separated and put in separate booth's the man who pushed Isel into his room said "right then lad when those doors open I suggest you get out there and find your friend and work together otherwise you'll end up like the previous poor sods" Isel stood in his little room and looked through the crack in the door way he could see and hear that the stadium was full the crowd where just above the doors sitting down waiting to see yet more carnage suddenly a trumpet blasted and the doors swung open Isel ran out and looked around and saw at least twenty other opponents he looked around and saw Northia being attacked by a human Isel turned and ran towards them expecting someone to intervene but no one did fortunately the human had his back turned to him so Isel drew out his scimitar and raised it and when he reached the human he brought the sword down into the human's shoulder and he managed to sever the man's arm of with one swing the human fell to the floor with the blood spurting every where and the crowd went berserk screaming until a man in the crowd shouted "first blood goes to Isel the dark elf"

"Well done and thanks" said Northia Isel looked down at Northia's weapon he was only carrying a rapier

"Not the best of swords to chose" Isel said

"Rely too much on my magic" replied Northia "hang on that orc's looking at you" Isel turned round to see an orc about twenty metres away "come on let's get 'im watch my back" Isel said as he started running at the orc it in turn also began running at him Isel lowered his sword to about hip height until the orc reached him with it's sword raised Isel swung his sword upwards and knocked the orc's sword out of it's hand he the brought the sword side ways into the orc's hip the black blood spurted out and the orc howled in pain from the blow. The crowd again went wild then started chanting "Isel, Isel". Northia walked up to Isel and said

"Your becoming a bit of a celebrity"

"I know I can't help being naturally gifted" replied Isel arrogantly

"Ha-ha your getting a bit to big headed aren't you"

"No I can just accept the truth" suddenly a man announced

"Only five of you remain stand still and do not attack each other, look around you these men shall be in your team now". Isel looked around and saw a blue lizard man holding a huge double handed axe, a human wearing some studded leather armour and carrying a cross-bow and also a goblin wearing black robes that indicated that he was a death mage and he was holding a flail.


End file.
